Classics and the Western Canon discussion

The inn’s patrons are moved by Donald Farfrae’s singing of Scotland and are disappointed to hear he is on his way to America. Susan sends a message to Henchard. Elizabeth-Jane finds him visiting with Farfrae who has agreed to work for him. Henchard sends a message to Susan suggesting time and place for a meeting. He encloses five guineas.

Susan and Henchard meet at night. He tells her he has abstained from drink since that night. She confesses she had assumed the wife sale was legally binding. He proposes they re-marry and live together as husband and wife. They agree to keep their previous marriage secret. He asks Susan if she forgives him. She doesn’t respond.

Henchard confides in Farfrae about selling his wife and reveals his promise to marry a woman in Jersey with whom he became involved when he thought Susan was dead. Farfrae advises him to explain to the woman why he can’t marry her and helps him compose his letter. Henchard encloses money for her.

Susan and Elizabeth-Jane move into a cottage and are visited regularly by Henchard. Henchard and Susan marry. Elizabeth-Jane blossoms in her new surroundings and she and Henchard grow increasingly fond of one another. His business flourishes with Farfrae’s help. Elizabeth-Jane receives a note to meet someone at the granary. Farfrae receives a similar note. Each thinks the other sent the note.

Farfrae challenges Henchard over his treatment of Abel Whittle. Henchard resents the public challenge and is convinced Farfrae is taking advantage of his confidence. He is angered by Farfrae’s popularity in the village.

Henchard is emerging as an increasingly complex character. Although he is capable of behaving rashly, he also shows he has some integrity by honoring his vow to abstain from alcohol. He is trusting, revealing secrets of his past behavior with Susan and the Jersey woman to Donald Farfrae, a man he has only just met. He is determined to make it up to Susan with a “businesslike determination” although there is not even a hint of romantic love between the two of them. We are told Henchard marries her to make amends for his egregious past behavior; to provide a home for Elizabeth-Jane; and to punish himself by marrying a woman beneath his station, thereby inviting social opprobrium.

To add to the complexity, Henchard’s reprimand of Abel Whittle seems unnecessarily harsh. He insists on publicly humiliating Abel for repeatedly being late for work. Farfrae intervenes to save the boy from humiliation. We later learn of Henchard’s generosity: he had donated coals and snuff to Abel’s mother throughout the previous winter.

What do you make of Henchard so far?

What do you think of Farfrae? Why is Henchard so impressed with him?

Henchard seems to have done a decent job of settling things fairly and equitably (except maybe that he owes his daughter the truth). But if they were going to live happily ever after, it wouldn't be a Hardy novel.

- I'll bet you beans to bacon Farfrae will marry E-J and feel obligated to spill the beans about her parentage, so to speak.
- Who sent the notes to him and her? What is the sender's agenda?
- I bet the sailor Newson will show up very much alive and looking for his "wife."
- And there's the spurned woman in Jersey.

Roger wrote: "But if they were going to live happily ever after, it wouldn't be a Hardy novel."

That's very true. Hardy doesn't do happily ever after endings.

I agree Henchard has made things as fair as he can, given the circumstances. But he still seems a harsh man (I'm thinking of the scene where he dismisses the man who came to work for him, the one whose job Farfrae took).

I'm very impressed with the pacing of this novel. I know it was published as a serial, and it shows in the best ways. Very readable chapters, a good balance of action, dialogue and description, and a "hook" at the end of each chapter to make you want to read the next one.

La_mariane wrote: "I agree Henchard has made things as fair as he can, given the circumstances. But he still seems a harsh man (I'm thinking of the scene where he dismisses the man who came to work for him, the one w..."

I think he is also unnecessarily harsh with Abel Whittle. He humiliates him by making him step outside without his breeches. Farfrae intervenes and sends him back indoors to get properly dressed.

Tamara wrote: "La_mariane wrote: "I agree Henchard has made things as fair as he can, given the circumstances. But he still seems a harsh man (I'm thinking of the scene where he dismisses the man who came to work..."

Exactly! Henchard tries to "do good" on the big things in life (like marrying Susan again) but the "little interactions" show he's not changed that much. I'm waiting for disaster to strike.

I found a couple of instances of possible foreshadowing in this week’s reading with Hardy suggesting that things will not turn out well.

For example, the Ring in Casterbridge where Susan and Henchard meet was a former Roman Amphitheatre. The location is significant. It is described as a melancholy, gloomy place where skeletons of dead soldiers from the Roman empire could be found. It housed gladiator games and had fairly recently served as the town gallows.

But one kind of appointment—in itself the most common of any—seldom had a place in the Amphitheater: that of happy lovers.

This hardly suggests an auspicious beginning for Henchard and Susan’s arrangement to re-marry.

Another example: Susan’s response is curious when Henchard questions her about Elizabeth-Jane’s hair color which was darker when she was a baby. Susan assures him hair color changes. And then Hardy tells us this, possibly suggesting a foreshadowing:

And the same uneasy expression came out on her face, to which the future held the key.

And, finally, I came across this in Chapter 15: Elizabeth-Jane observes the friendship between Henchard and Farfrae:

Friendship between man and man; what a rugged strength there was in it, as evinced by these two. And yet the seed that was to lift the foundation of this friendship was at that moment taking root in a chink of its structure.

Hardy drops hints that all will not turn out well probably because he wants to sustain reader interest. Did you find any examples of foreshadowing that I missed?

Roger wrote: "- Who sent the notes to him and her? What is the sender's agenda?"

My guess is it was Henchard. He seems to be infatuated with Farfrae and marrying him to his daughter would keep him close. (On the other hand, he is "bad at letters", and it's not like E-J and Farfrae needed an introduction, so I'm not sure.)

Tamara wrote: "Hardy drops hints that all will not turn out well probably because he wants to sustain reader interest. Did you find any examples of foreshadowing that I missed?"

Henchard describes himself as "being by nature something of a woman-hater" when he is explaining his situation to Farfrae, and at the very low-key wedding Nance Mockridge says "There's a bluebeardy look about 'en; and twill out in time."

Henchard doesn't seem like a Bluebeard to me exactly, but his attitude toward women is at least questionable. He doesn't seem to like them much; his relations with women seem to be more obligatory than romantic in nature. Even his concern for the woman in Jersey is phrased as a repayment : "I felt I owed her something". Which makes me wonder about his attraction to Farfrae.

Thomas wrote: "Even his concern for the woman in Jersey is phrased as a repayment : "I felt I owed her something". Which makes me wonder about his attraction to Farfrae.."

Henchard's relationships seem to be transactional. He sells Susan for five guineas when he feels burdened by her. And he slips five guineas in the envelope when he sets up their meeting--as if he is "buying" her back. He plans their courtship and marriage as if it is a business transaction.

The woman in Jersey takes care of him when he is ill, so they become intimate. She was “terribly careless of appearances” and her reputation suffered as a consequence. Hardy highlights the double standard of Victorian society when Henchard admits the scandal did him no harm but ruined his lover’s reputation. She suffered because of him, so he feels he owes her something. Why didn’t he marry her earlier when he thought Susan was dead? Now that he knows Susan is alive, his relationship with his Jersey lover has become a liability—something it wasn’t before because he wasn’t impacted by the scandal. He breaks his relationship with her just as he would a business deal and sends her money to compensate.

I see his relationship with Farfrae as being transactional along the same lines. Farfrae can help him restore his wheat and keep track of his accounts. He needs him and embraces him wholeheartedly. But Hardy has already suggested there are seeds of potential problems in their relationship. I suspect if Henchard feels Farfrae has become a liability, he will dismiss him just as he did with the women in his life.

Hardy appears to be setting up a contrast between Henchard and Farfrae.

Henchard is impetuous and has a tendency to act on his emotions without thinking things through. He is willing to go after Farfrae on the basis of a brief conversation and a note suggesting Farfrae could restore his damaged wheat. He is also trusting and generous.

’To be sure, to be sure, how that fellow does draw me!’ he had said to himself. ‘I suppose ‘tis because I’m so lonely. I’d have given him a third share in the business to have stayed.’

Farfrae, on the other hand, is more circumspect and in control. His song about Scotland moves his audience and demonstrates his love for his homeland. But as he explains to Elizabeth-Jane later, he doesn’t allow his feelings for Scotland to govern his decision:

’it’s well you feel a song, for a few minutes, and your eyes get quite tearful; but you finish it, and for all you felt you don’t mind it or think of it again for a long while.

Farfrae strikes me as a man who is pragmatic and very much in control of his emotions. He also looks to the future, whereas Henchard is haunted by his past.

Is Hardy also setting up a contrast between Susan and Henchard's lover in Jersey?

Tamara wrote: "Hardy appears to be setting up a contrast between Henchard and Farfrae."

They do have features that make them to be foils of sorts, not in a good vs. evil sort of way, but in their contrasting temperaments.

Henchard is now the Mayor of Casterbridge, prosperous and still ruled by pride. His abstinence seems to be another form of self-assertion turned into morality.

Farfrae seems rational, benevolent, and scientific where Henchard is impulsive and passionate. Their first discussion on how to “cure grown corn” seems to be a meeting of modern intelligence versus traditional instinct. Farfrae’s mild humility and technical/scientific knowledge mark him as the man of the coming age; Henchard’s instinctive generosity and jealousy mark him a tragic man of the passing one.

Logos vs. pathos? Maybe thymos, spirited pride, is better than pathos?

David wrote: "Farfrae’s mild humility and technical/scientific knowledge mark him as the man of the coming age; Henchard’s instinctive generosity and jealousy mark him a tragic man of the passing one..."

Hardy makes it a point to tell us Henchard’s old method of conducting business is being replaced by Farfrae’s newer methods. The tone is nostalgic:

Meanwhile, the great corn and hay traffic conducted by Henchard throve under the management of Donald Farfrae as it had never thriven before. It had formerly moved in jolts; now it went on oil castors. The old crude viva voce system of Henchard, in which everything depended upon his memory, and bargains were made by the tongue alone, was swept away. Letters and ledgers took the place of ‘I’ll do’t,’ and ‘you shall hae’t;’ and, in all such cases of advance, the rugged picturesqueness of the old method disappeared with its inconveniences. (Chapt. 14)

I like "the rugged picturesqueness of the old method." There’s a lot to be said for the old system with business being conducted “by the tongue alone” and where a person’s word was considered good enough to close a deal.

Tamara wrote: "I like "the rugged picturesqueness of the old method." There’s a lot to be said for the old system with business being conducted “by the tongue alone” and where a person’s word was considered good enough to close a deal."

Hardy certainly gives that scene a sense of rugged appeal, and I understand the fondness for the older system where business rested on honor and a spoken word. But even in the novel, that charm is filtered through a slightly rose-tinted lens.

The same world that prizes ‘business by the tongue alone’ also sets the stage for wife auctions. Hardy lets us feel the attraction of the old ways, but he also shows the risks of a system built entirely on personality, impulse, and pride. The nostalgia is part of the atmosphere, yet the story itself complicates the very thing we are tempted to look upon with a sense of nostalgia.

I like this world Hardy is building; it appears to be black and white and we are ready to both praise and condemn things, which upon closer inspection makes it all quite gray and almost disappointingly realistic.

I’m enjoying the guesses about what will happen next. Hardy is good at building a sense of suspense even when things seem to be going more or less smoothly.

Henchard strikes me as impulsive, capable of generosity, but with a low tolerance for frustration that can make him too impatient with difficulties and people. He knows what he wants and can masterfully sweep things along but sometimes comes across as a bit of a bully. He’s capable of regret for his behavior and has ideas how to make amends, but he doesn’t always see where he’s done wrong to someone like the late for work man. He’s jealous of his position and a bit threatened by Farfrae’s popularity in the town.

I wonder if there is any significance in Farfrae’s name which means “Far from” in Scots. I also wonder if he will be content to stay in Casterbridge or if he will eventually want to pursue his big ideas somewhere else where there is more scope for them.

Casterbridge seems to possess its own Greek chorus of villagers and idlers who offer their perspectives in comments on the action and characters now and then, as in the Three Mariners scene with Farfrae singing and at Henchard and Susan’s remarriage. I’m curious if their role will be limited to commentary or if they will play a part in events as they unfold.

David wrote: "Hardy lets us feel the attraction of the old ways, but he also shows the risks of a system built entirely on personality, impulse, and pride.."

I would add the system is also built on gender discrimination and male hegemony.

I can't help but think the description of Henchard's garden near the beginning of chapter 12 has some relevancy but I am unsure of the symbolism.

It extended a long way back from the house, first as lawn and flower-beds, then as fruit-garden, where the long-tied espaliers, as old as the old house itself, had grown so stout, and cramped, and gnarled that they had pulled their stakes out of the ground and stood distorted and writhing in vegetable agony, like leafy Laocoons. The flowers which smelt so sweetly were not discernible; and they passed through them into the house.

The words stoutness, distorted, writhing in vegetable agony, were striking. It seems to be a map of sorts to Henchard's temperament; orderly on the outside, full of stout or stubborn turmoil and suffering on the inside. The Imagery of Lacoon's futile struggle against the serpents was pretty striking as well.

I'm not sure what to make of the flower's who scent could be sensed, but were unseen. Does it signify Henchard's redeemability which can't be seen due to his stubborn temperment, i.e., character?

David wrote: "I can't help but think the description of Henchard's garden near the beginning of chapter 12 has some relevancy but I am unsure of the symbolism.
It extended a long way back from the house, first..."

Nice catch, David

David wrote: "I'm not sure what to make of the flower's who scent could be sensed, but were unseen. Does it signify Henchard's redeemability which can't be seen due to his stubborn temperment, i.e., character?

Could it also be a reference to Elizabeth-Jane? She is "unseen" because she doesn't call attention to herself and so goes largely unnoticed. But she is also exudes a "sweet scent" in that she is kind and compassionate toward everyone she meets.

Tamara wrote: "Could it also be a reference to Elizabeth-Jane? She is "unseen" because she doesn't call attention to herself and so goes largely unnoticed."

I like that connection.